Skip to main content

Don't Talk About My Mother



Mary the mother of Jesus is an important figure in the gospels. She is probably the reason we know about Jesus as a young person (Luke 2:19; 51).  We see at important events like at the cross (John 19:25) and in the upper room with the disciples in Acts 1.  This has led some to make her into more than any other disciple.  In some circles she is prayed to and worshiped.  She is looked on a special intercessor for Christians.  Is this the way Jesus wanted us to treat his mother?

  Consider what Jesus said in Luke 11:27-28. In this passage Jesus was interrupted by a woman who exclaims, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed." Her thought is the mother of Jesus must be special since she had a son like Jesus.  But Jesus refutes her and says, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."  Jesus says she is not any more special that anyone that would do what God commands.  There are no “special” saints. A saint is one that hears and obey the word of God (Philemon 1:5 Revelation 14:12).  Mary was never intended by Jesus to be singled out for unique reverence.
 
  It is odd to me how in our man made traditions we often go exactly opposite of what is said in scriptures.  In 1 Timothy 4:1-3 tells us how there will be those that leave the faith for lies and false doctrines.  It even gives us two specific examples of those wayward ideas, “men who forbid marriage”  “advocate abstaining from foods”.  But what do we see in some that claim to be “the Church”; they forbid certain people from being married and tell their parishioner that they can't eat meats at certain times of the year!  


  Man-made doctrines even when not as direct as these examples, will always be opposite of God commands.  Jesus said in Mark 7:13  “ invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that."  Holding to our own created religious ideas is at direct turn against God’s commands.  Don’t be captured by those teaching things that are in a worldly mindset rather than according to Christ (Colossians 2:8). His word should be our guide, don't let anyone tell you anything different!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Until Midnight

    In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back.       I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

The Gift You Give Yourself

    I always hated buying gifts for my Mom. If I got her something like a new set of pans, it was like saying “Here’s something you can use to go make me something to eat”. A gift for her was seemingly a gift for me.   There are however gifts you give that benefit you more than the receiver. For example, forgiveness. When you give it, you are giving it to yourself as much as you are giving it to them. Jesus said that when we forgive others it means God is forgiving us our wrongs (Matthew 6:14-15).  I once read: “ Heaven is where everyone's forgiven. Hell is where nobody's forgiven.  So, when we forgive we pull heaven down into our lives.  When we withhold forgiveness, we pull hell up into our lives ” Give yourself something nice today, Forgive.

Mysterious Ways

    William Cowper didn’t see any reason to live.   He decided that he’d jump off the bridge over the Thames. So, he called a cab to take him there.   But that night in 1763, a thick fog enveloped London. It was so thick the cab driver couldn’t find the bridge and couldn’t even find the way to take William home. In frustration, he ordered the driver to stop and get out to get his bearings. He walked up to the nearest house to read the number and it was William's house. Gone now were William’s thoughts of suicide and instead a new idea came into his head. So, he went in and wrote these words: God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm.  You fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds you so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings on your head.     I sometimes wish we could see all the ways God watches over us when need it. There are...